Determination
by WillieF19
Summary: Sasuke's and Naruto's confrontation at the VOTE turns out to be just words that end with the two walking in two separate directions with a new determination. See what they talk about and what happened before they Sasuke's defection.
1. Chapter 1

_**I don't own Naruto**_

_**Chapter 1**_

Two young boys are seen standing on opposite sides of a waterfall. One was standing on his own ancestor's head while the other was standing on a head of a person who was only distantly related to him. The former was Sasuke Uchiha standing on Madara Uchiha's head. The latter was Naruto Uzumaki standing on the first hokage, Hashirama Senju's head.

Naruto had just finished chasing down his best friend and comrade. Sasuke had decided to leave the village to join Orochimaru. Naruto and some of his other friends in the Konoha 12 were sent after Sasuke to bring him back. After each interaction with the enemy a comrade was left behind to combat the threat. Chouji Akimichi stayed behind to face Jirobo. Chouji won the match, but it left him in a critical state. Neji Hyuga stayed behind to face Kidomaru. Neji won as well, but was also left in a critical state. Kiba and his opponents Sakon and Ukon fell into a ravine. Kiba was saved by Kankuro who killed Sakon and Ukon. Shikamaru held off Tayuya while Naruto chased after the newest enemy Kimimaru. Temari showed up to kill Tayuya. Naruto fought Kimimaru and it proved Futile. Rock Lee showed up to take over the fight and allow Naruto to chase after Sasuke. Gaara soon arrived to help Lee. Before Kimimaru could deliver the final blow to Gaara, He died.

Naruto didn't know the conclusions to any of these fights. He was worried for his friends and hoped for the best, but knew he had to push those thoughts aside so he could focus on the battle with Sasuke.

"The hypocrite arrives." Sasuke said as he turned to face Naruto

"Hypocrite?" Naruto asked in confusion

"It means you tell others to do one thing, but you don't follow it yourself. You're stopping me from achieving my dream in life while you still have the ability to chase after your dream. My dream is to kill Itachi Uchiha and then revive my clan. Your dream is to be hokage and protect everyone precious to you. How can you tell me to give up on my dream when you push so hard to achieve your dream." Sasuke said

Naruto was at a loss for words. Sasuke was right. He didn't want to admit it though.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying don't go to Orochimaru to achieve your dream." Naruto countered

"This is the only way. Orochimaru is a Sannin and has given me results already. Itachi was an anbu captain by the time he was my age. How can I catch up, especially since he's had years to get even stronger than that?" Sasuke asked

Naruto was speechless again. He had no answer to Sasuke's words. Training harder wouldn't get him anywhere because Sasuke has been training hard all his life since he gained his drive, his purpose to kill Itachi.

"You let nothing stop you when it comes to your dream. Why can I not be the same way? Don't worry Naruto, I'm not turning my back on the village. I'm only gaining power from Orochimaru, so that one day I'll kill my brother. I have no interest in making Konoha my enemy." Sasuke said as he stared Naruto in the eye.

Naruto could see Sasuke's resolve in his eyes. They were the same resolve he saw in his own eyes when he looked in the mirror. Sasuke only wanted to kill Itachi and would never turn against Konoha anymore than his actions have shown. Naruto finally gave up. He knew that bringing Sasuke back now would only cause more problems.

"Why don't you show me the same determination I'm showing you and focus more on your dream to be hokage than me." Sasuke said as Naruto smirked

"Alright Sasuke, I'll focus on my dream. I'll keep holding my hand out though until you take it." Naruto said as he threw his fist forward in a punch, but then opened it as if he waiting for Sasuke to shake his hand.

The two smiled at each other and then turned to walk away.

"Oh and Naruto, give up on Sakura. Maybe try that Tenten girl." Sasuke said as he continued walking. They both had a flashback of a memory that Naruto treasures.

_**Flashback After the Chunin exams but before the Tsunade retrieval mission**_

The Konoha twelve had decided to come together to talk about the Chunin exams and the invasion afterwards.

Before they did that Neji thought it would be good if they introduced themselves similar to how they did when they first joined their Genin team.

"My name is Neji Hyuga. My likes are Soba noodles with herring and my new friend Naruto. My dislikes are pumpkin and arrogant people. My hobbies are meditation. My dream for the future is to live my life my way and not as the caged bird seal dictates." Neji said as he showed the others the seal and gave a brief description.

"My name is Tenten. My likes are Chinese buns and Sesame dumplings. My dislikes are pickled plum and people that are sexist. My hobbies are fortune-telling. My dream for the future is to be as strong a kunoichi as Lady Tsunade." Tenten said

"That's a great dream Tenten. I believe you can do it." Naruto burst out before he could stop himself. This outburst caused the others to look at him with different looks. Hinata was slightly jealous, but her face didn't show it. Tenten was blushing a little, but she kept it hidden, because this was the first person other than her sensei to believe in her dream. Sasuke and Sakura looked confused at his outburst.

"Thanks Naruto." Tenten replied

"My name is Rock Lee. My likes are Curry and Rice( medium spicy), Curry pilaf, and training. I have no dislikes currently. My hobbies are fighting my own way and training with Gai sensei. My dream for the future is to prove that I can be a splendid shinobi without the use of ninjutsu and genjutu." Lee said

"My name is Shikamaru Nara. My likes are Mackerel cooked with miso , Sukonbu, and Shogi. My dislikes are hard boiled eggs and troublesome things. My hobbies are napping, playing Shogi, and cloud watching. My dream is to have a an average life with an average wife and two kids." Shikamaru said

"My name is Chouji Akimichi. My likes are food. I dislike people who call me fat. My hobbies are eating. My dream is to open up a restaurant after I retire from my shinobi career." Chouji said

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. My likes are Cherry tomatoes, Custard pudding, and flowers. I dislike Sashimi. My hobbies are shopping. My dream is to run my family's flower shop when I'm older." Ino said

"My name is Kiba Akimichi. My likes are Beef jerky, Gristle, and Akamaru. My dislikes are food that's not chewy and cats especially Tora. My hobbies are walking and training with Akamaru. My dream for the future is to be the best in my family and maybe on day become clan head." Kiba said

"My name is Shino Aburame. My likes are salad with wild herb, Winter melon, and insects. My dislikes are people that harm insects without reason. My hobbies insect observation and talking with my father." Shino said

"My name is Hinata Hyuga. My likes are cinnamon rolls and Senzai. My dislikes are crab, eel, and the caged bird seal. My hobbies are pressing flowers. My dream is to be a good clan head and to remove the caged bird seal." Hinata said to the shock of Neji.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes Shiratama Anmitsu and Sasuke-kun. My dislikes are spicy food and Naruto-baka. My hobbies are playing trivia and memorization. My dream for the future is to be Sakura Uchiha." Sakura said. Everyone looked at her. Naruto looked hurt, Tenten looked sympathetic for Naruto, and Sasuke looked annoyed. All but team 7 saw Tenten's look.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My likes are rice balls, and tomatoes. My dislikes are Natto, sweets, and fangirls. My hobbies are training and walking. My dream for the future is to revive my clan and to kill a certain someone." Sasuke said. Sakura and Naruto were the only ones to not catch the jab at Sakura in his dislikes. Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru were the only ones to know who Sasuke wanted to kill. Sakura paid almost no attention to his words, but her eyes lit up when he said revive his clan.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are ramen. My dislikes are uncooked vegetables. My hobbies are training. My dream for the future is to be the strongest hokage ever to live and to protect my precious people." Naruto said. Sasuke was the only one to notice that Naruto didn't say he liked Sakura. Maybe he was catching the hint she was throwing.

"Like you could ever be hokage baka. That's only reserved for people like Sasuke." Sakura screeched

"I think he can do it Sakura. If not Naruto then not anyone in our generation" Tenten said

Sakura didn't respond because she was looking at Sakura to see his reaction to her statement.

"That's a fine way to thank the person who saved your life." Sasuke said

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked

"I fought Gaara and was losing. Naruto fought Gaara and won. I didn't weaken or tire Gaara out at all. Naruto fought Gaara with Gaara being at 100 % and Naruto not being 100%. Naruto saved your life. If he didn't you would have died." Sasuke said .

"Stop being so modest Sasuke-kun. Everyone knows that you fought Gaara and Naruto got in the way. You saved him, me and defeated without really trying." Sakura said

"I'm done trying. Sakura go home. I'll pick you up later for our date." Sasuke said. Sakura got giddy and ran off.

"I'm glad she's gone. I'm not taking her anywhere by the way." Sasuke said as he smirked in Naruto's direction.

"Now that she's gone and I'm pretty sure that you guys won't shun me, I'll tell you. The fourth hokage couldn't defeat Kyuubi and he sealed him inside of me instead. I didn't even know until Mizuki told me on the night I graduated." Naruto said to the shock of his friends.

Before Naruto could speak again everyone threw in their comments about how they could see the difference between him and Kyuubi. Naruto smiled at their words.

_**Flashback end **_

Naruto smiled at the memory. It made his determination to become hokage grow even stronger. As he walked back to Konoha, he took one last look over his shoulder. Sasuke was long gone, but Naruto felt like he was right next to him showing his support.


	2. Chapter 2

**I**_** don't own Naruto**_

_**Chapter 2**_

Naruto was walking back towards Konoha. He was alone until.

"Naruto!" A voice called out

Naruto looked up to see his sensei. "Hey sensei." Naruto said eagerly

"What happened where's Sasuke?" Kakashi asked

"He left. I met him at the valley of the end. When I arrived we had a short conversation and I allowed him to walk away." Naruto said

"What did you talk about?" Kakashi asked. He was sure Naruto wouldn't let Sasuke go without a good reason especially since this was his mission.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather tell everyone at the same time so I don't have to repeat myself." Naruto said

"Alright. Let's head back to the village." Kakashi said as he turned and they started tree hopping.

"What happened to the others?" Naruto asked

"Choji and Neji were in critical condition, but lady hokage and Shizune handled them and they are better. Kiba was assisted by Kankuro. Shikamaru was assisted by Temari. Lee was assisted by Gaara. They are fine." Kakashi said as he continued. He himself was just returning from a mission and was given a quick debrief before he set off with Pakkun to find his two male students.

"That's good. The mission may have been a failure, but we all came out of it alive." Naruto said. Kakashi nodded as they continued in silence.

_**Later**_

Naruto and Kakashi returned to Konoha and immediately headed to Tsunade's office.

"Naruto!" Tsunade said as she ran and hugged Naruto. The information she had gotten from Gaara and Lee said that Naruto went after Sasuke, who Lee saw run off after getting out of the coffin that the sound 4 carried him in. Knowing that this situation was the same as when Orochimaru left and Jiraiya went after him, she worried for Naruto.

"I'm fine grandma." Naruto said as he accepted her hug.

"What happened?" Tsunade said as she looked over Naruto for injurues.

"My last fight was against that bone guy that Lee and Gaara faced. I'd rather tell the rest of the story once though. Can we wait until everyone can listen." Naruto said

Tsunade wanted to know now since she was the hokage and this was first priority, but she decided that she could wait. The mission would be deemed a failure. Everyone, Konoha 11 and their sensei as well as the Suna siblings would be able to listen as soon as tomorrow.

"Alright. Get home and get some rest." Tsunade said as she dismissed the two.

_**The next**_** day**

Everyone was standing in a small room surrounding Naruto and their hokage.

"Not everyone knows, but a few days ago I sent Shikamaru, Neji, Choji, Kiba, and Naruto on a mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had defected from the village to go to Orochimaru. He was escorted by four sound nin. As the team traveled they continued to break off and fight their opponents. Choji was the first to stop and he defeated Jirobo. Neji stopped next to defeat Kidomaru. After sucessfully retrieving the coffin that the sound nin carried Sasuke in, the three tried to flee. Akamaru set up a paper bomb, but his leg got caught and he couldn't flee. Kiba returned for him and got caught in the explosion with Sakon and his brother Ukon, who share the same body. Kankuro of Suna arrived to back up Kiba and defeated him. After running with the coffin for a while a new adversary appeared. Kimimaru, a sound nin took the coffin and left his fellow sound nin Tayuya to defeat Naruto and Shikamaru. Shikamaru distracted her to allow Naruto to continue after Sasuke. Temari showed up to back up Shikamaru and she defeated Tayuya. Naruto caught up to Kimimaru and engaged him in battle. Before long the coffin exploded and Sasuke was revealed. Naruto called out to him to return home, but he ignored Naruto and continued to Orochimaru. Naruto tried to follow, but Kimimaru blocked his path. Lee then showed up, against my orders, to back up Naruto. This allowed Naruto to continue after Sasuke. Lee couldn't defeat Kimimaru and was later backed up by Gaara. Gaara himself couldn't beat Kimimaru, but that didn't matter because Kimimaru died of a previous illness. The rest can be explained by Naruto because he has yet to even tell me of what happened when he caught up with Sasuke at the Valley of the End." Tsunade said. Mixed reactions were seen throughout of all who didn't go on the mission. The end rection was relief that everyone was alright including Naruto. Sakura was the only one not showing relief. She was wondering what happened and where was Sasuke.

Naruto stepped forward and told everyone of what happened when he caught up to Sasuke. He danced over the details of having Kyuubi because the only one to not know was Sakura, but everyone filled in those holes. He told them of their conversation and the memories that came with it. Everyone understood except Sakura.

"Why did you let him go?" Sakura schreeched

"This is what he wanted Sakura. His lifelong goal was to kill his brother Itachi. Sasuke felt that he wasn't getting strong fast enough so he made his choice to go to Orochimaru. I may not agree with his chocie, but it was his choice." Naruto said

"You just thought that with Sasuke-kun gone, I would date you. I should have never trusted you to bring Sasuke-kun back. You're worse than scum." Sakura said.

All, but Kakashi and Naruto understood her meaning. Kakashi had taught them that you're scum if you disobey the rules, but you're worse than scum if you turn your back on your comrades. Before anyone could comment on her words, Naruto replied

" I'm scum for disobeying the rules. My mission and my promise was to bring him back and I failed. I never turned my back on my comrades. I thought about the others every second of the way. Thinking about the sacrifices they made so I could catch up to Sasuke. At the end of the day he was right though. I am a hypocrite for trying to force him to give up on his dream, while I can still continue mine. That's why I'm going to continue working on my dream, so that when Sasuke kills Itachi, he can return and restore his clan under my reign as hokage." Naruto said with determination. Kakashi, Tsunade, Gaara, and Tenten all saw the determination brewing in his eyes. The others, minus Sakura, felt the intensity behind his speech and believed in him.

"You don't even deserve to be a ninja, let alone hokage. Scum like you should give up on the impossible." Sakura said as she walked out the room in tears over losing Sasuke and being too weak to stop him herself. She would change that if it was the last thing she did.

Tenten and Tsunade almost chased after the girl if it wasn't for Naruto's next words.

"Stop. She's just misguided. I don't blame her at all. I just hope that she can pick herself up from this and move on. I can tell she sees herself as weak for being useless. I hope she takes that feeling and turns it into drive to get stronger." Naruto said. The rest of the room couldn't help, but smile or smirk in their own way at Naruto's forgiving ways.

"Let's hope you can do the same." A voice called from the window

"Pervy sage?" Naruto asked as he turned around

"That's right kid. I'm making you my apprentice and taking you away for three years to train. That's how long you got anyway." Jiraiya said

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked

"Itachi and Kisame are a part of a group of S class criminals. I don't know their goals, but I do know that they are targeting the tailed beast, which mean Jinchuriki like you and Gaara should be ready. They won't strike for another three years though, so you need to train." Jiraiya said to the shock of all in the room.

"Well I guess I don't have much of a choice. What kind of Hokage would I be if I couldn't defend myself, my village, and it's allies from a threat." Naruto smirked

"That's good that you're fired up because my training will be hell for you. The results will be more than worth it though. Meet me tomorrow at the main gate at 9." Jiraiya said as he left.

The Konoha 11 was congratulating Naruto on his luck on being trained by a sannin and they also said that they would train hard too, so that they could back him up when the time came.

"Do your best, Naruto." Tenten said as she gave the blond a hug. It lasted longer than a friendly hug and afterwards they blushed and left the office in different ways. Naruto went out the window and Tenten walked the door.

Naruto left to pack for the training trip. He was eager and couldn't wait to get started. He hoped that he could really train this time and not be left alone while Jiraiya went to be around women. This was serious after all. After finishing packing, Naruto's thoughts turned to Tenten. He wasn't sure if a relationship between them could form, but he hoped so. He hardly knew the girl. Maybe he could use the toads to keep in contact with her. That way he could get to know her better while he was away. He smiled at his idea. It was brilliant. Naruto left his home to get some ramen from the ramen stand. He also told the two of his mission and his training trip. They wished him luck and shared a couple laughs at Naruto's expense about Tenten. After the meal and fun Naruto returned home to get some sleep. He would need it if he got a fraction of the training he hoped for from his new sensei.

The next morning Naruto departed after saying goodbyes to everyone. He even told Tenten that he would try to stay in contact with her while he was away. She was confused and wanted to know how, but he replied that she would see.


End file.
